Gigabyte adds wireless charging and pico projector to Brix mini PC

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Gigabyte’s new Brix machines pack plenty of Haswell power into a very small package. As it turns out, the company has much bigger plans for the tiny Brix than following the lead of Intel’s NUC reference design.

For starters, Gigabyte is also going to offer Brix with AMD mid-range Kabini APUs. They’re the low-power chips that recently replaced 2011’s Brazos, and they only use between 9 and 15W under normal use.

The AMD Brix models won’t compete with their Haswell counterparts in terms of sheer performance. As our sister site ExtremeTech noted, the A4-5000 chip that Gigabyte lists in the top-end AMD Brix can only manage around 20FPS in Left4Dead 2.

The big selling point for the AMD models will likely be price. These Brix could still be an excellent option for schools and businesses. What’s not to like about a low-cost, ultra-low-power PC that can be neatly hidden away on the VESA mounts behind a standard monitor?

What else does Gigabyte have in store for Brix? How about an integrated pico projector? It’s not going to rival Sony’s new laser projector in terms of quality, obviously, but how cool would it be to flip the switch and shoot your Minecraft session or watch a few episodes of Arrested Development on the wall (or a projector screen if you’re going all in)?

Another Brix system featured a built-in wireless charging pad. If you’re going to leave the Brix on your desk, why not be able to plop your phone down for a little cord-free rejuvenation? Heat could be a potential downside, obviously, but it’s not like a 15W chip sitting inside an aluminum heatsink is going to incinerate your Lumia.

As of now, these are just prototypes Gigabyte is showing off at Computex. The company wasn’t talking pricing or release dates, so these may never hit store shelves. We’ll just have to keep our ears peeled for updates.